


i'm feeling lucky

by drilbur



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Fluff, Inconvenient Soulmate Identifying Marks, M/M, Romantic Comedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-17 05:21:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28719555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drilbur/pseuds/drilbur
Summary: mark has a bit of trouble finding his soulmate through google searches.
Relationships: Mark Lee/Xiao De Jun | Xiao Jun
Comments: 17
Kudos: 105





	i'm feeling lucky

**Author's Note:**

> just saw an old tumblr post that said "what if soulmate identifying marks were just. each other's google searches." VOILA!

mark makes a poor excuse of a sandwich at three in the morning when his arm tingles like it was his phone alarming him with a notification. he's gotten used to the feeling now, he's been seeing this for the past three years and he has no idea who his soulmate is. 21 years old and mark still finds comfort in the fact that at least his soulmate is not god forbid, _dead,_ or worse, with an unbearable sense of humor. his blank arm starts flooding with dark ink across the expanse of his skin, lines curving around the edges and rounding off near his elbows, in the form of a perfect round-edged rectangle. next comes the colors, the red, blue, green, and yellow forming the word 'google' beside the infamous search bar.

mark sighs. what outrageous search was it going to be today? as far as he knows, none of the world's population has anything as stupid but endearing soulmate feature to brag about. he waited, on his 18th birthday, for his soulmate identifying aspect to show up and hoped to god it would be something adorable and cute like his brother, taeyong's and his soulmate's whose were literally just incomplete tattoos that probably fit into each other's for when they eventually find each other. he had freaked out when he had taken a nap and woken up, only to find the horror of the words 'tentacle hentai' in big arial font, etched into the depths of his skin. his eyes had widened in amusement as he rubbed his right arm furiously for a few minutes, only to realize that the universe had played the biggest practical joke on him.

so, the sandwich sits. in his hand, waiting to be taken a big bite out of but mark gives it some time, as he rubs his eyes and patiently waits for the words to start forming. the kitchen seems darker now, under the dim lights and his eyes closing voluntarily under the vestiges of sleep trying to take him away anytime.

"why are ..." the three dots appear to tell mark that his soulmate was still typing. "why are penguins so cute?" the sentence finishes itself and mark shakes his head. yeah no, he wasn't getting anywhere with his soulmate at this rate. he wonders if his soulmate has the same extraordinary feature as him, but he thinks that if he did, he would be intentionally sending the dumbest sex jokes to embarrass him in public, considering mark knew his sense of humor by now. mark's still on the safe side on most days though, he has his incognito tab open when he's not in a hurry and he's not entirely sure if it works. but precaution is precaution, and mark will take all of it in order to not look like the dumbest, horniest, and sappy human on the planet in witness of his soulmate. he wants to make a good impression and so he does all he can. but three years is a long time indeed, and if his soulmate hasn't found his google search exposition tab on him, they must be awfully stupid.

the search tab is still open on mark's arm though, showing that his soulmate is still lurking through the penguin images and probably cooing at them. mark wonders what his soulmate looks like, and he _has_ to put a face to all the scandalous google searches.

_eliminate sean paul rapping movement_

_what are crotchless panties_

_what does poggers mean in GAMING_

there must be something that his soulmate must have to show that mark is alive and well, right? he's well aware that everyone has one unique feature with their soulmate, and if his soulmate wasn't going to reach out to him through his google search then, he doesn't know what's wrong. does he not want to meet him? is he purposefully avoiding mark and his weird ass snack preferences? mark will still argue that sunflower seeds are very tasty and can pass off as snacks any day.

he tilts his head in confusion as the google tab disappears, and mark finally takes a bite out of that sandwich, now heavy in his hands. another day and it's one more entry into keeping track of all his soulmate's searches. yes, he has a book with all the embarrassing stuff. but not all of it is embarrassing, of course. from what he's gathered, his soulmate is an e-commerce major, adores puppies and other small animals, likes mint chocolate ice-cream, got a q-tip stuck in their ear once, has digestion problems every now and then, and got their last wisdom removed recently. and they watched tentacle porn out of curiosity, he hopes. it almost looked like his soulmate hadn't been in any relationship so far, but it's quite normal in his society. people tend to wait for their soulmates and hope for them to be their first ever relationship — it's just precaution to never break anyone's hearts, the satisfaction of being in a relationship with your soulmate will ruin the experience any previous relationships one has had.

he writes shakily with a yawn, the entry for today in messy handwriting and goes to bed.

—

mark goes to a music production seminar later during the day, stomach grumbling and mouth pursed into a frown. his soulmate was nowhere on the radar, which means he practically had nothing to be amused at today. jaemin had already parted ways with him after the very unproductive study hours at the library and now he was being forced to attend these seminars and report on them for the sake of extra credits. the minute he seats himself in one of the backside rows of the auditorium, he settles easily with his backpack on his lap, looking around for some company from his own class. he waits for the speaker to arrive and it takes another fifteen minutes and he's dozing off in an instant. he feels like it's only been a few seconds but someone is already tapping the helm of his shoulder and shaking him awake. this person must be an idiot.

"is this seat taken?" mark frowns. it's a dude with a twizzlers pack in his mouth, a huge sketchbook in his right hand, a very brightly colored backpack sliding off of his right shoulder. he really wants to open his mouth and say "does it look like?" and go back to sleep again. but again, he can't blame this ( _very attractive_ )stranger for ruining his catnap and his already abysmal sleep schedule, so he shuts his mouth and only nods slightly. it's a huge auditorium, but this guy chose to sit right next to mark and he doesn't know if he should be flattered or disturbed. mark tries dozing off again when the guy drops his sketchbook loudly onto the floor while settling in and positively ruins the whole sleeping experience. he struggles to bend down and get it but mark picks it up for him hastily. the guy smiles back at him and mark curtly returns the favor. 

he can't really help it but something about this guy feels so different, so weird, and unsettling. he can't point it out at all, it feels like he's the only puzzle piece that doesn't fit in mark's grand scheme of things. he can't help but notice the guy's simple sense of clothing, just a striped t-shirt and some skinny jeans but it feels so different, like nobody's ever worn them before on the planet and as if his brain is perceiving stripes as a pattern for the first time ever. his brain spins a little but mark just attributes that to the lack of sleep and the excessive amounts of communication theory notes he's been memorizing for his finals. 

he shakes his head and leans towards the wall next to him, and waits for the seminar to start but this time, with a clumsy stranger next to him. he can hear him bite off the twizzler with loud pop and before he knows it, the guy is breaking off one of it, dangling the pink chewable in his fingers and offering it to mark. he must be absolutely crazy. mark feels like this guy is the biggest anomaly he's ever met and he doesn't find it deep within himself to ask why he even feels that way, besides, he's only met him a mere five minutes ago. he doesn't speak to him but just says a small "no thanks," and the guy turns away.

"have i seen you anywhere before?"

mark whips his head up again.

"if you're super interested in the university's newsletter then you probably know me, i'm like. everywhere." the guy laughs, his eyes crinkling, cheekbones high up.

"i don't read the newsletter but it feels like i know you somehow. very weird." mark hums quietly and smiles back when the guy shifts his sketchbook away from mark's thighs. god, the spiral wires were starting to poke him through the jeans. 

"you sure you don't like twizzlers?" mark likes twizzlers. he actually adores them, he thinks about the time when he was younger and wanted to build his entire house from twizzlers alone.

"nah, it's okay. thanks though," mark says. when the guy finally turns away, the seminar is announced to begin and mark pulls out his trusty old notebook to jot down the important points to write a report off of later. the guy next to him is opening up his sketchbook and holding it horizontally alongside him, pulling out a wrap case with different pencils. mark eyes him slowly as he watches him pull out a thick leaded one and begins shading something ambiguous. he admires people who can draw, or do anything he can't do for that matter, so when the guy begins tracing out delicate lines, he can't help but look away from taking down notes and peeping into the book. 

he vaguely listens to the speaker, he knows what all this is about. music production is not something he's completely unfamiliar with but since this is just an introductory seminar, he thinks he can give it some leeway. when the guy finishes tracing out the bigger strokes of the picture, he starts moving towards the smaller details starting from the corners. it finally begins to take shape, he's drawing the auditorium as a scene. pretty interesting, if you'd ask mark. he stares in awe, lips pulled wide and eyes focused. he can feel his pulse slowing down and as if his heart is beating right for the first time in years. very very weird. he traces his eyes at the intricate details of the guy's hands now, and how delicately he holds his pencil and how his fingers were mildly calloused but so pretty, "how would it feel if i held them," his brain supplies and it feels like he's doing something illegal. he shakes himself awake from the daze and tries again to focus on the seminar.

"you like it?" the guy asks and mark pretends like he wasn't watching the entire thing as it was being drawn.

"oh! this? it's awesome, dude." he glosses his eyes over the image, it's not even half done but it looks like this guy was a very talented artist already.

"i sat here for the vantage point, i've wanted to draw this place for a long time. i hope you didn't mind." it feels like this guy was reading mark's mind from earlier, reeling over his unsaid words when he first met him twenty minutes ago. 

"of course not, i don't own this place. you're allowed to sit anywhere." mark says, debating whether he should've been more polite once the words leave his mouth. luckily, the guy doesn't immediately move away from him but instead only smiles awkwardly and gets back to sketching.

"um, have you considered drawing the scene near the trees by abraham block? i think it would look pretty." mark says this time, surprising himself. the guy turns fully towards mark now, searching his face for him to say more.

"well yeah! i've tried sitting there but it's always so noisy and clutter-y. i wish we could get some pictures with just the trees and the pond." he hums to himself.

"well, i think the university gallery on the website has that exact picture. you're in luck because guess who took that picture," mark wiggles his eyebrows playfully, he doesn't know why he feels the need to impress this very pretty stranger, his brain is currently working on autopilot. he watches the guy's eyes go wide and lips curve into a big smile.

"really? that's awesome! let me open up that picture right now." mark sees him reaching into his back pocket to retrieve an old iphone 6, cracked on the sides but still in perfect working condition, he assumes. he punches in his very unamusing passcode (009900) and it opens up with a spectacular amount of apps on the home screen.

the safari app is right at his fingertips but he reaches for the google app. the minute the cursor blinks on the tab, mark's heart jumps just like it did in the wee hours of the morning and his eyes go wide.

"oh my god. oh my..."

"are you okay?"

mark has drowned the guy out now. wait, not just any guy, his _soulmate_ because all he can see now is the blank ink crawling across his arm along with the few drops of colored ink swirling on the sides. is this really how he has met his soulmate? mark's future rings in his ears. suddenly, his brain is swimming in an ocean of visions from the future - a kitten in his hands as he looks up to see his soulmate smiling at him with the heat of the sun, the pleasant smell of vanilla coating the tips of his nose, swaying in the kitchen with this beautiful creature wrapping his arms around his waist from the back. and it's so hard to breathe. mark opens his eyes and sees this boy, haloed in golden light also staring back at him in the most bewildered manner, pupils dilated and hands stilled around the dark lead of the pencil.

"you—"

"it's been three years." the guy cuts him off in an instant, words halted at the tip of his tongue. three years. well, at the least, mark had his hilarious search results popping up on his timeline to keep him on toes but for his soulmate, nothing seemed to be working. absolutely nothing, the guy seemed pristine, not a single brandishing of his features are on him. suddenly, mark feels sad.

"i-i'm mark."

"oh, trust me. i know your name, alright. i'm dejun, by the way."

 _dejun, what a pretty name,_ mark thinks. what a face to connect to all the scandalous searches.

"did you actually realize i was your soulmate the minute i pulled up google? what the fuck?" oh boy, mark had some explaining to do. three years worth explaining and horrifying exposition of his soulmate’s past.

— 

johnny’s cafe was a secluded hangout spot, everyone rarely went there because of how insanely tiring it was to be served burned hot chocolate every single time. mark’s in on a secret though, he knows that the chamomile milk tea tasted better than anything else he’s ever had on campus, he begs dejun to go with him despite him thrashing around due to the rumors surrounding the cafe.

“our first date after playing around with each other for three years and you want to serve me burnt hot chocolate. do i keep hearing that correctly?” dejun asks, eyebrows tilted upwards, lips pulled taut, plain unamused by mark.

“dude i swear to god, this place has the best chamomile tea you will ever taste. and i’d know what you’d like too! i’m your soulmate, i wouldn’t lie to you, c’mon,”

“i severely doubt that statement, mr minhyung lee, communications major, owner of an absurd amount of socks, obsessive game of thrones fan, mild spanish speaker, and also my soulmate.” mark giggles at that, and reaches out to dejun to slot his hands in between his own. dejun looks at him once again for him to try and change his mind but he gives in.

mark found out a few days later after the whole auditorium debacle that all dejun had in place of his soulmate mark was a round-edged rectangular outline with a magnifying glass icon and the initials ‘MKL’ etched into it. and it was on his right thigh. sure enough, it was awkward for dejun to show mark the soulmate mark the first time around, having to strip his pants down to his knees. dejun had every right in the world to be pissed, annoyed, and even angry at mark for not actively trying to seek him out for three years. mark carefully showed dejun every one of his documented google searches, starting from the infamous tentacle hentai to the most recent ‘lopunny hot’ which was an attempt to show mark why lopunny was on flint’s team in the first place. 

mark realized quick enough that being soulmates did not mean that they would share the same preferences, same tastes, or same opinions. he had read before that the most successful soulmate couples usually came from ones that usually had the opposite preferences of each other, and mostly things that wouldn’t exactly scream ‘soulmate’. dejun learned soon that mark was absolutely everything he needed in his life, he was the answer to all of his google searches and dejun was perfect for mark because he loved looking smart in front of others. after planning for days on end, going to johnny’s cafe was mark’s grand idea, and dejun begrudgingly had only agreed because he didn’t come up with anything better.

“one day i will save us both, i swear.” dejun slightly mutters under his breath as they both sit down at a table near the corner. mark shoots a smile at johnny, the owner of the shop and dejun looks at him with a straight face and then breaks out into a smile when mark looks like a lost puppy.

“now, if you don’t want chamomile tea, we can get some wedges or like—a cappuccino? if you’re into that? or like we can get a …” mark flips the menu, “wow, that’s a cheap pizza. man.”

“you can order a blueberry tart with a caffe latte, no extra cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce, and … oh! one vanilla velvet muffin for me. thanks, markie.” mark is dumbfounded, he gapes like a fish out of water, and again he thinks about the damn societal sentiment that soulmates are supposed to complete each other and hence they are absolute opposites. he drags his chair out and waddles towards the counter to order it. what dejun wants, dejun gets.

“you’re paying, right?” dejun asks, unwrapping a new packet of twizzlers and biting one between his teeth as he stares at mark with puppy eyes right after he comes back. his stupid heart beats louder and faster, and a faint vision of them adopting a kitten swims in his head. he smiles dazedly and silently nods at dejun.

“do you get those visions too? i usually get them when i’m really sad, but i guess you get them when you’re really happy? that’s kinda cute.”

“how many times have you seen me in visions?” mark asks. dejun hums.

“i don’t usually get to see faces, but, this one time you got a bad papercut on your finger and i was literally trying to kiss it better.” dejun giggles, his eyes sink into crescents and mark feels so _alive_ for once.

“what did you just see?”

“we adopted a stray black kitten and she was so—”

“i’m sorry, we adopted a cat? that seems so unlike me. i’m a dog person through and through.”

“well, it was you and me. and we called her raki. and she probably loves you more than me.” dejun noticeably softens at that, mark notices his hands have stopped shaking a little, so he boldly reaches out for him and holds it, thumbs slowly rubbing the back of his palm.

“you’re stupid and i’m dumb, too. don’t worry, it’ll work out.” dejun hears himself saying and mark smiles so blindingly that dejun forgets that their waiter brought out their order. after mark wipes off the little amount of creamer stuck to dejun’s upper lip and smirks a little, and dejun in turn offering to split his muffin with him, he excuses himself to the washroom.

mark sighs quietly as he watches dejun walk towards the brightly colored door of the men’s room, hips shaking in the best way possible. to be honest, mark didn’t think his soulmate would end up being like this — so utterly perfect for him in every way. his heart picks up tempo once he notices a little tissue note with a very small doodle of him with the message ‘you’re cool or wtv’ written on it from dejun’s side of the table. this time his brain gives him visions of folding laundry together with dejun, and resting his head on his lap. yeah, he’s definitely too happy.

a few moments later and his arm swells with black ink again, forming the familiar edges of the rounded corners, and a very poor rendition of the google logo and mark almost screams.

_how do i impress my already perfect soulmate?_

three years seem nothing compared to now, waiting for dejun to come back from the washroom so that he can kiss him senseless. mark definitely hit the jackpot.

**Author's Note:**

> this was originally first written for alw round 3 but i had to scrap it bc it was just the worst looking fic in existence back in november T__T but she's here now and that's all that matters!
> 
> tell me how much u like fantasizing abt mark lee in broad daylight  
> [twt](https://twitter.com/emberhit)


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